and in other news...

i noticed (and briefly responded too) the comment in response to my last blog, but i think that i want to wander through with more depth...

philip slater wrote in the pursuit of loneliness that the ideal of romance limits significant relationships. that, by definition, the pursuit of your romantic match will lead you searching for tragic and, essentially, nonexistent relationships. i came across this author while reading a blog -- the blog writer agreed with slater and cited magazine and media representations of the "beautiful people" with their airbrushed skin and perfectly constructed bodies as proof positive of this. i would extend that to the representation of romantic love as perpetuated by popular media - especially media directed at women. i think that it is a sense of completion that these women seek -- their perfect romantic match. which posits an interesting question - how culpable is the media in rising divorce rates? that question may seem somewhat naive. but is it? the past 40 years have taught women that they should stand up for what they believe in -- freedom from opression, free expression of sexuality and creativity etc. why should the search for the perfect romantic partner be any different? truly this is a western conundrum. but then, aristophanes' myth of the perfect other is a western construction as well...